Apple shocked the world in 2005 when they announced an impending transition from PowerPC to Intel x86 processors. The Mac mini “Early 2006” was in the first wave of Intel Core-powered Macs. Outside, these first-generation models gave little indication that there was anything different than their predecessors. Inside was an entirely new animal.

Available in single-core 1.5 GHz “Core Solo” or dual-core 1.66 GHz “Core Duo” processor models, they featured 512 MB PC2-5300 RAM, 64 MB Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics, Airport Extreme 802.11G wireless networking, gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2, Firewire 400 and Apple infrared remote control. The “Core Solo” models shipped with a 60GB SATA hard disk drive and 8x DVD-ROM/CD-RW “Combo” drive while the 1.66 GHz models sported an 80 GB SATA hard drive and 8x dual-layer DVD-R/W “SuperDrive”. Monitor, keyboard and mouse were sold separately.

This Mac mini features a 1.5 GHz “Core Solo” processor in a standard hardware configuration. It was purchased from university surplus. It boots to the original Mac OS X 10.4.6 “Tiger” and is shown with a 20” Apple Cinema Display, Apple Keyboard and Mighty Mouse.